Wrapped With A Bow
by PharaohsThrone
Summary: Joey has always been one for insane ideas, but his newest one has Yami unable to do a thing when he's forced to admit his feelings for Yugi. Let's just say that a man wrapped in duct tape with a bow around his neck wasn't quite what Yugi expected to find on his doorstep one Friday afternoon.


"That was hilarious!" Joey said with a laugh, nudging Yami as they walked out of the cinema. Yami was caught off guard by the slight push however, and stumbled to the side into Yugi. The two quickly jumped apart as their hands brushed together, and looked away awkwardly in the opposite direction. They both obviously had strong feelings for each other, but they were both too stubborn to admit it. Joey had his suspicions, but he wasn't going to push anything until he knew exactly what was going on. Which was why he did small amusing things such as push Yami into Yugi just to see their reactions. He was sneaky that way.

"So are you coming back to mine, Yug?" Joey asked the boy after their awkward moment, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Huh?" Yugi had obviously had something else on his mind, or someone, more like. "Oh, no, I have a lot of unpacking to do, maybe another time," he smiled apologetically at the man. The gang were all out of high school, and had moved on to their respective tertiary studies. Because Yugi was now attending Domino University, he had to move into an apartment with his friend Tristan, so that he was closer to the campus. Joey had suggested they all go to the movies to celebrate Yugi's successful move, but Tristan was hellbent on finishing his own unpacking, so they left him behind.

"Fair enough," Joey said, slinging an arm over Yami's shoulder, "I guess it'll just be us two, then," he grinned at the man, who gave Joey a sarcastic roll of the eyes. Yami and Joey shared an apartment not far from Yugi and Tristan, making it easy for them to be able to go back and forth between the two. It was part of the reason that Yugi and Tristan had chosen that specific one, too. After Yugi said goodbye to the two, they went their separate ways, heading for their respective apartments.

...

"Joey, get out of my way!" Yami laughed, holding the game controller in his hands. "I can't shoot the enemy if you're standing in front of me!"

"Oops," Joey laughed, moving his character so that Yami could shoot the characters in red. This was the usual routine for a Friday afternoon, it hadn't been spoken, but over time it had just ended up that every friday they'd end up sitting on the couch in front of the TV playing video games. It was their own unspoken ritual. This was because during the week the two were so busy with uni that they didn't have much time to just hang out. Usually Yugi and Tristan would also join them, but today seemed to be an exception to that. Joey paused the game when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out, looking at the screen curiously.

Yami chuckled, seeing the stupid grin that appeared on his friends face. "What's that look for?" he teased.

"Hm?" Joey looked up, his cheeks turning red, "Oh, nothing..."

"That's not nothing," Yami argued, pointing at him, "It's that blonde girl you like, isn't it?" he smirked at the man, who seemed to fail at coming up with an answer.

After a moment, Joey gave up on looking for excuses, "Maybe," he said, looking back at his phone. Once he was done with it, he threw it onto the couch, "What about you then? Any girls you're interested in?" he raised an eyebrow at Yami, who looked caught off guard, but soon regained his composure.

"Uh-" Yami swiftly turned back to the TV screen, before muttering, "I'm not interested in women."

This was music to Joey's ears. "You're not?!" He jumped up, a cheesy grin on his face. "That means you must like someone, who is it?" he asked eagerly, standing in front of his friend. "Come on, tell me!"

Yami looked quite startled at Joey's outburst, and stuttered for a moment, before saying, "Nobody! And even if I did have feelings for someone, I wouldn't tell you," he said, pointing at Joey.

"Aw, come on!" Joey pleaded, sitting back down on the couch beside Yami. "Please tell me who it is!" Although he had his suspicions, he wanted to hear it from the man himself.

Yami placed his game controller down with an annoyed groan. "No, I'm not telling you who it is," he said, crossing his arms.

Joey grinned, "So you DO like someone!" he cheered.

Yami cursed, his cheeks turning red as Joey cheered. "Okay maybe I do, but I'm still not telling you." He avoided Joey's eyes, that were trained on the side of his head, begging for an answer.

"What if I guess?" Joey asked, moving his head into Yami's line of vision.

Yami gave an exasperated sigh, pushing Joey's head back, "You won't guess, and I still won't tell you." He was becoming worried that Joey already knew who it was, but he wasn't going to let his defenses down now. Who knows what the man would do if he knew the details to such a subject.

"So there would be no problem if I just threw names at you, then?" Joey asked, a devious smirk on his face as he stared at his friend.

Yami stayed stubborn, crossing his arms once again as he turned his head back to the TV screen, "Go right ahead, it won't make a difference."

Joey jumped up from his place on the couch as he lifted his hand to his chin, stroking an imaginary beard. As he pretended to think about his answer, he casually wandered around the couch so that he was behind where Yami was sitting, but still able to se the man's features. With a devious smirk, Joey leaned over the back of the couch, and spoke into Yami's ear.

"Yugi."

Without first realising it, Yami's eyes went wide and his body stiffened. How the hell does he know?! He then realised he had reacted to Joey's guess, and instantly made himself relax, hoping the other man hadn't noticed. But even if he had made the smallest reaction, Joey would have noticed.

"It is him!" Joey cheered, jumping up with his fist in the air. "You're crushing on Yugi!" he sang, a wide grin on his face.

Yami couldn't help the blush that crept onto his cheeks, and he turned away from the dancing man beside him. "I am not!" he protested.

"You are!" Joey pestered, poking him several times in the arm. Yami battered his hand away, and Joey just laughed. "Alright, you're coming with me," Joey announced, grabbing Yami's arm and pulling him up.

"Huh? Where are we going?" Yami asked as Joey dragged him towards the door. This couldn't be good, Yami thought.

"Yugi's, you're gonna go tell him how you feel," Joey stated with a confident nod of his head.

"What?!" Yami instantly stopped in his place, refusing to go any further. "That is _not_ happening." He crossed his arms stubbornly, and Joey turned around to glare at him.

"You're getting your butt over there and telling him how you feel," Joey said, pointing towards the door. He grabbed Yami's arm again, "Now stop being such a girl about it, and come on." Yami dug his heels in as Joey tried to pull him towards the door again.

"No! Joey, I'm not going over there!" Yami protested, but his shoes just slid along the hard wood floor as Joey dragged him to the door. As he opened the door and pulled the protesting man with him, Yami grabbed onto the door frame tightly, ceasing Joey's movement forwards.

With an exasperated sigh, Joey let go of Yami's arm and turned back to him, "You're one stubborn little bitch, aren't you?"

Yami stood his ground, no longer holding onto the doorframe. "I can't let Yugi find out," he stated simply.

Joey then got an idea, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he kept pressing the matter, as he walked past Yami back into their apartment. "But why not?" he asked.

Yami looked slightly more relaxed when he turned around, following Joey with his eyes, "Because he just can't, alright?"

Joey wandered around the apartment, trying to find the object he was looking for, "He just can't? That doesn't sound like a plausible excuse..."

"_Joey,_" Yami groaned, walking back into the apartment as Joey walked into the kitchen, now out of sight.

"So you're worried that he won't return your feelings?" he heard Joey call out from the kitchen.

Yami sighed, and answered with a roll of his eyes, that Joey couldn't see. "Yes." He could hear Joey opening drawers and cupboards, and silently wondered what the man was doing.

Joey finally emerged from the kitchen, holding his hands behind his back, "And how do you know that?" he asked casually.

Yami raised an eyebrow at the man, completely ignoring his question, "What have you got there...?"

Joey gave the man a devious grin, taking a few steps forward so that he was standing right in front of a weary Yami. The blond watched Yami's face as he pulled out the roll of thick duct tape from behind his back. The other man raised his eyebrows, attempting to back away, but before he could get very far, Joey launched himself at Yami.

...

"Joey, please don't make me do this!" Yami begged, now standing on Yugi's doorstep. He would make a run for it if he could, but that was just the problem, he couldn't. He was confined by layers of duct tape, wrapping from just below his shoulders, constricting his arms and legs all the way down to his ankles. It had been the biggest struggle Joey had gone through, trying to confine Yami by the tape, but after he had managed to circle the man a few times, it had gotten easier, until Yami wasn't able to do anything to stop him. And, much to Yami's verbal protest, Joey had decided to tie a red bow around Yami's neck, while giggling madly. Joey now grinned, standing beside Yami as he knocked on the door.

"Don't worry, you'll be thanking me soon," he said with a laugh, before moving to step behind Yami. The constricted man gulped, hearing footsteps come to the door.

"Joey, _please_-" Yami was cut off abruptly when the door swung open, revealing a short, spiky haired boy. Usually Yami would get butterflies in his stomach upon seeing the boy, but right now they may as well have been elephants, for his stomach dropped to his ankles. He stared down at a shocked Yugi, who wasn't quite sure what to say about the present Joey had placed on his door step. Yami was sure his cheeks were bright red by this point, and he groaned internally, thinking that this must have been the most embarrassing moment of his life.

Yugi finally managed to find his voice, upon seeing Yami constricted by the duct tape and tied with a bow. "Y-Yami?" he asked, looking the man up and down.

Joey prodded Yami's back, poking his head out from behind the man, "Yugi, Yami has something to say to you," he stated.

Yami clenched his teeth, avoiding Yugi's confused eyes as much as possible. "No, I don't." Joey sighed, before picking Yami up and slinging the man over his shoulder, walking straight past Yugi and into the apartment.

Yugi watched with wide eyes as Joey walked straight to the boy's room, "Joey, what is this about?" he asked. Joey simply beckoned Yugi to follow him, and he did so as Joey walked into the boy's room, and placed Yami back on the ground. Yugi stood at the door, looking more confused than ever.

"Okay, Yug." Joey walked over to the boy, "I need you to get something for me."

Yugi raised his eyebrows, "Before that, what is this about?" he asked, only glancing at Yami once, who was painfully quiet.

Joey leaned against the door frame, an amused smirk on his face. "All will be explained when you get something for me."

They were then joined by another person, as Tristan walked out of his room and down the hallway, standing behind Joey. "Whats going on?" he asked, peering into the room and raising his eyebrows upon seeing Yami.

"All will be explained in a moment," Joey said with a grin, "Now Yugi, could I please borrow the 4th Death Note?"

Yugi gave him an incredulous look, "What on earth does that have to do with this?"

"I said, I'll explain in a moment Yugi, now please can I borrow it?"

Yugi let out an exasperated sigh, turning to walk towards his bookshelf, "Fine, but I don't see how-" He was cut off when he heard the sound of his door shutting, and he spun around in his spot, before running back over to it and trying the handle. "You're kidding me," he groaned. "We're locked in!" He pounded on the door as he could hear Joey's cheerful laughter on the other side, celebrating the success of his plan.

Yugi then heard Yami speak for the first time since he came in, "I should have known Joey would pull a trick like this," he muttered. Yugi turned around, and realised Yami was still stuck in his duct tape confinements. He decided to set Yami free before he asked what was going on (for the umpteenth time). Yugi walked over to his desk and picked up a pair of scissors, before walking back over to Yami.

"If I let you out, will you please tell me what's going on?" he asked, holding the scissors in his hand.

Before Yami could stutter a response, they heard Joey from the other side of the door. "We're not letting you two out until Yami tells you!"

Yami stared at the door for a moment, before he sighed, defeated. "Well I guess I have to, don't I?"

Yugi let out a relieved breath, "Good," he said. He moved to cut the tape that was across Yami's chest, but stopped. "Do you trust me?" he asked looking up at Yami. The taller man nodded, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Yes. I trust you, Yugi. Now get me out of this!" he complained. Yugi laughed, before cutting the tape straight down Yami's chest, and luckily not slicing any holes in his shirt. The man managed to pull his arms out now that the top half of the tape had been cut, and he ripped the tape off of him, throwing it to the side. The force of his throw however, threw him off balance, since his legs were still taped together. He let out a startled noise, but couldn't stop himself from falling backwards.

Yugi didn't realise what was happening until it was too late, and he watched as Yami fell back onto his bed, while trying to suppress a laugh at his friend. "Here," Yugi kneeled down and cut the tape surrounding Yami's legs, and pulled it off of his tight black pants.

Yami let out a sigh, not bothering to move from where he was. His back was lying on Yugi's bed, with his legs hanging over the side, and as Yugi tossed the tape down into the already made pile, he chuckled. Yami then noticed he still had the red bow tied around his neck, and he pulled it off with a grunt, throwing it to the floor. That may have been the most embarrassing thing anyone had ever done to him, and it wasn't even over yet. Yugi then walked over so that he was facing Yami whilst the man lay on his bed, and Yugi put his hands on his hips.

"Alright, so what's this about, then?" he asked, eyeing the man down.

Yami was staring up at the ceiling, and he didn't dare look at Yugi, as the slightest blush crept onto his cheeks. For the time that he had known of his feelings for Yugi, he had made it clear to himself that he would never need to speak those words to him. But now, here he was, forced to admit his inner feelings, or let them both starve. He knew that Joey would stay true to his word, neither of them were getting out of there until he opened his mouth. He let out a deep sigh, and Yugi sat down on the bed beside him.

"Come on Yami, it can't be that bad," Yugi said encouragingly. "You know you can tell me anything."

Yami sighed, still staring at the ceiling, "I know that," he murmured. "But I'm still afraid of your response."

Yugi raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Yami let out another sigh, and sat up, now looking down at the floor instead of the ceiling. Yugi watched on curiously, noticing Yami's sudden nervous behaviour. It was easy to tell, the man was avoiding looking straight at him, nervously fiddling with his hands, and Yugi could see the slight evidence of sweat on his forehead. Something was obviously stressing him. There was a sudden bang on the door, and Yami jumped as the sound startled him.

"Hurry up already! Tristan and I are gettin' bored out here, you know," Joey called through the door. It made Yami even more nervous, knowing that his friends were waiting outside. It made it seem much less private, and if Yami had to admit to his true feelings, he would much rather for him and Yugi to be completely alone.

Yugi noticed Yami's behaviour become more flustered, and he reached out to rest his hand on the man's shoulder. "Relax," Yugi said soothingly, "I've never seen you so stressed before."

Yami groaned, "Is it that obvious?" he muttered, still staring at the ground.

Yugi leaned back on his hands as he casually looked up the ceiling, "Well-"

"I love you."

Yugi's eyes went wide and his head snapped back in Yami's direction, having been completely caught off guard by the man's words. His mouth went dry as he stared at Yami sitting on the edge of his bed, and he was sure all the blood in his body had rushed to his cheeks. "I-what?" he chocked out.

Yami didn't dare face his friend, as he continued to star at the floor. He closed his eyes and sighed, before repeating. "I...love you." Yugi's jaw was at the floor as Yami abruptly stood up and moved to the door, without so much as a second glance in his direction. Yugi couldn't manage to get his brain to send a message to move his limbs, and soon Yami was harshly rapping on the door, demanding for Joey to let him out, but the other man didn't seem to be listening.

"Joey, I know you're still there!" Yami pounded on the door as fast as his heart was beating. He couldn't stand being stuck in this room any longer, especially since he'd just spilled his feelings for Yugi. The boy hadn't said a word yet, and Yami hadn't dared look at him, but an uneasy feeling had made itself evident in his stomach making him think that he'd made a terrible mistake. He heard the bed squeak as Yugi stood up and he could feel the sweat on his forehead, the embarrassment from this was almost too much for him. He banged on the door even louder, hoping for a way out of facing Yugi now after his confession. His whole body suddenly tensed, he knew Yugi was behind him, he could hear the boy's feet shift on the carpet. Why wasn't Joey opening the door? He got what he wanted and Yami confessed, what more did he want, to torture the man? Yami was well aware of Yugi's presence behind him, but he didn't dare turn around, so he couldn't see the look on the boy's face. Yugi was standing there timidly, biting his lip and trying to think of what to say. He didn't want to sound like a fool, after all.

"Yami..." he murmured, reaching a hand out to rest on the man's shoulder.

Yami shrugged the boy's hand away and pressed his head against the door, closing his eyes tightly. He felt so drained and defeated that his words came out in almost a whisper. "Please Yugi, I know what you're going to say, so please spare me more humiliation..."

Yugi put his hands on his hips, wanting the man to face him already. "Then you obviously don't know what I'm going to say," he said confidently. Yami eye's suddenly opened and his eyebrows shot up. He carefully lifted his head off the door, but still didn't turn to face the boy, and he waited for something else to confirm this wasn't all for nothing. Yugi went up on his toes and rested his hands on Yami's waist to steady himself, as he moved to speak in the man's ear. The close contact from behind was doing wonders for Yami's hormones, but he stayed completely still, letting Yugi's breath run over his neck and trying not to shiver in the process.

Yugi smiled and spoke softly into Yami's ear, "I love you, too." The shiver that went down Yami's spine from Yugi's warm breath seemed to match the incredibly warm feeling that ran through him as Yugi's words sunk in. Yami felt Yugi go back off his toes so he was standing flat footed once again, but his hands didn't move from the man's waist. Yami had his hands still pressed against the door, but he was finally able to slowly turn his head, and then his body, to face Yugi, who was smiling at him warmly.

Yami didn't know what to say, his mind had turned to mush the second he had seen Yugi's smile, and whatever words he had planned on saying turned into a jumble in his mouth as he tried to stutter them out nervously. "I-er-you-um-" he shook his head as his cheeks turned red and sighed, before trying something more simple. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

Yugi chuckled at the man's nervousness, and held back the urge to tell him how cute it was. Instead, he simply nodded, still smiling, "Yes." Yugi then slowly moved his hands and placed them on Yami's chest, not breaking eye contact as he did so. "I really do."

Yami was sure that Yugi could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but by this point he didn't care. In response, he moved his hands to Yugi's shoulders, before slowly sliding them down the side of his arms, and landing on his waist as he spoke. "Then..." he wanted to look away, but he couldn't bring himself to do, his eyes were glued to those gorgeous amethyst orbs, and it seemed to melt his insides every moment they stared at each other. He hadn't realised it until then either, but the boy's face seemed considerably closer than it did before. "You wouldn't mind if..." Closer again, and Yami soon realised that his question was now completely irrelevant. "If..." and in the next moment, his eyes were closed and he could feel warm lips against his.

The kiss was sweet, soft, and cautious. Neither of the two wanted to make a wrong move, for fear of scaring the other away at first. But as seconds passed and they became familiar with the other's lips, they deepened the kiss, and Yami moved his hands to the small of Yugi's back and pulled him closer. The boy complied, and wrapped his arm's around the man's neck. Yami had no shame in admitting he had imagined this happening before, but his fantasies were nowhere near the real thing. Never could he have imagined how comfortably Yugi fit into his arms, how soft Yugi's lips felt against his, and how he got an incredibly warm feeling in his chest by the simple act, and he never wanted it to end.

Joey had his ear pressed against the door, with Tristan standing behind him waiting for a verdict from the blond. Joey was caught off guard when something hit the door, and he jumped back in surprise, before looking back at the door again, and smirking at Tristan. "Looks like our work here is done," he said, still smirking as he wrapped an arm around Tristan's neck and dragged the man to the door. "Let's go get a coffee," he suggested.

"But-" Tristan argued, "Shouldn't we let them out?" he asked.

Joey shook his head, "Nah, they'll be just fine," he said with a chuckle.

Back now pressed against the door, Yami pulled Yugi against him once more, crashing their lips together again. The cautiousness they had started out with was now complete gone, as their passionate embrace continued, neither one wanting to break away from the other's lips. Soon they realised they needed to breathe however, but both men tried to hold onto the moment for as long as they could, savoring the taste of the other's lips. Like two waves that had crashed into each other, they may as well as become one, as close as they were holding each other.

Finally, they pulled out at the same time, their chests heaving in an attempt to gain oxygen. Yami leaned his head back against the door as he tried to stop his head from spinning; that had definitely been the most intense make-out session he'd experienced. But then again, he could count the others on one hand. Neither of them let go of the other, as they breathed heavily, cheeks flushed and eyes locked. Yami then leaned his head forwards so that their foreheads were touching, and he smiled.

"Next time," he said with a heavy breath, "Don't keep me waiting for so long."

* * *

So I got the idea for this story from a picture on tumblr, where Yami is standing in front of Yugi with a bow around his neck and Yugi's face is just like :O so I wanted to recreate it xD

Also, I've got a bunch of story ideas on my profile (this one would be one of them actually) for the stories that I'm going to start once I finish my current ones. I'll probably put up a poll very soon so you guys can choose which ones you want me to start first, cause honestly I won't be able to pick :P Anyway, I hope you liked the story!

Please let me know what you think :)

PharaohsThrone


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